Ilia Topuria makes case for being UFC's pound-for-pound best with first-round KO of Charles Oliveira

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ilia Topuria continued his ascension up the pound-for-pound ladder with a major statement via a vicious first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight championship Saturday night at UFC 317.

Topuria used a devastating right hand before finishing with a left hook to drop Oliveira and end the bout at the 2:27 mark of the opening round, fulfilling his prediction of a first-round KO while sending the announced crowd of 19,800 into a frenzy.

“I always say I represent the new generation of mixed martial arts,” said Topuria, who closed a -400 favorite at BetMGM sportsbook.

Topuria (17-0), who now has 10 first-round finishes to his credit, moved up to the 155-pound weight class following a successful campaign in the featherweight division last year. He claimed that belt with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski and defended his title by finishing Max Holloway in the third round of an October bout in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Topuria, who came in ranked fourth on UFC’s pound-for-pound list, joined nine others who have held a UFC belt in two weight classes. He is the first undefeated fighter to become champion in two UFC divisions.

“I think tonight was his big night,” UFC CEO and president Dana White said. “We have a star on our hands.”

Oliveira (35-11), who has the most finishes in UFC history, was hoping to become the first fighter to win the lightweight belt on separate occasions.

Fellow lightweight Paddy Pimblett was in the audience and summoned to the ring, where a heated exchange led to Topuria shoving the eighth-ranked contender and igniting a rivalry from years ago.

“Let's (expletive) fight! If you're ready, I'm here,” Topuria said to Pimblett before he entered the ring.

White wasn't happy with Pimblett getting in the ring, knowing the history of bad blood between the two.

The pair have been at odds for some time, after they came to blows when Pimblett threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria’s head in 2022.

“That was a heavy knockout, I’ll give you that,” Pimblett said to Topuria. “But you will never knock me out.”

Replied Topuria: “I’m going to submit you.”

In the co-main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (30-5) successfully defended his belt by applying a rear-naked chokehold to defeat Kai Kara-France (25-12) at the 1:55 mark of the third round.

It marked the second time the fighters met, nine years after their quarterfinal clash on the reality show “The Ultimate Fighter,” also won by Pantoja, but by unanimous decision.

Pantoja, who closed a -250 favorite and extended his win streak to eight fights, won the title two years ago when he beat Brandon Moreno by decision, and has now defended his title successfully four times.

The 35-year-old Brazilian was joined in the ring after his victory by No. 12 Joshua Van, who put on a show of his own.

Van (15-2-0) defeated No. 1 contender Brandon Royval (17-8-0) in a slugfest in which both fighters displayed incredible boxing skills. Van, who closed a -120 favorite, used an overhand right to drop Royval before closing out the bout with a severe ground-and-pound to secure the unanimous decision.

The 419 combined significant strikes landed were the third most in a UFC fight, and the most in both a three-round bout and a featherweight clash.

Moments after Pantoja’s win, Van challenged Pantoja with both standing nose to nose before exiting the octagon.

Other matches from the main card:

In a lightweight bout, No. 9 Beneil Dariush (23-6-1) survived a first-round knockdown to defeat No. 11 Renato Moicano (20-7-1) via unanimous decision.

In a bantamweight battle, Payton Talbott (10-1-0) used a much-improved ground game to register a unanimous decision over Felipe Lima (14-2-0).

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Alexandre Pantoja, right, fights Kai Kara-France in a flyweight title fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Alexandre Pantoja takes down Kai Kara-France in a flyweight title fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Alexandre Pantoja celebrates after defeating Kai Kara-France in a flyweight title fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Alexandre Pantoja, right, and Kai Kara-France exchange blows in a flyweight title fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Payton Talbott, left, fights Felipe Lima in a bantamweight fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Payton Talbott, right, fights Felipe Lima in a bantamweight fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Felipe Lima hits Payton Talbott in a bantamweight fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Beneil Dariush hits Renato Moicano in a lightweight fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Joshua Van hits Brandon Royval in a flyweight fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Joshua Van kicks Brandon Royval in a flyweight fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Joshua Van hits Brandon Royval in a flyweight fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Joshua Van hits Brandon Royval in a flyweight fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Ilia Topuria celebrates after defeating Charles Oliveira in a lightweight title fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Ilia Topuria, left, fights Charles Oliveira in a lightweight title fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Ilia Topuria celebrates after defeating Charles Oliveira in a lightweight title fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Charles Oliveira lies on the mat after losing to Ilia Topuria in a lightweight title fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Ilia Topuria, left, fights Charles Oliveira in a lightweight title fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Ilia Topuria pounds on Charles Oliveira in a lightweight title fight at UFC 317, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to revive his struggling government but faced growing calls to resign after a disastrous set of local and regional elections for his Labour Party.

As the final results came in Saturday, Labour suffered a net loss of more than 1,100 local council seats across England, lost control of several local authorities it had held for decades and was booted from power in Wales after 27 years. Anti-immigration party Reform UK gained over 1,300 seats across England and made significant gains in legislative elections in Wales and Scotland.

It was a blunt verdict from voters in elections widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led the center-left party to power less than two years ago.

Here are five things we’ve learned from the elections.

Starmer insisted he would not walk away and "plunge the country into chaos,” and the dire election results did not produce an immediate challenge to his leadership.

"The right thing to do is rebuild and show the path forward,” Starmer said Saturday. “That’s what I’m going to do in the coming days.”

Starmer’s Cabinet colleagues expressed support, and none of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential challengers has made a move. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are keeping quiet for now.

But a growing number of Labour lawmakers urged the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure this year. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.

“There has to be a timetable,” legislator Clive Betts told the BBC. Another lawmaker, Tony Vaughan, said there should be an “orderly transition of leadership.”

Starmer tried to demonstrate change on Saturday by bringing back two figures from past Labour governments. He made former Prime Minister Gordon Brown a special envoy on global finance, and appointed the party's ex-deputy leader Harriet Harman an adviser on women and girls.

Starmer is due to make a speech on Monday in an attempt to regain momentum, before the government sets out its legislative plans on Wednesday in a speech delivered by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.

The elections were a breakthrough for Reform UK, the latest hard-right party led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage.

Running on an anti-establishment and anti-immigration message, the party won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England’s north, such as Sunderland, that were solid Labour turf for decades. It also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like the county of Essex, east of London, and increased its vote share in Wales and Scotland, new terrain for the party.

Farage said the results marked a “historic change in British politics.” He said he's confident that “voters who have come to us are not doing it as a short-term protest.”

Reform UK currently holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons and it’s unclear whether it could repeat its success in a national election.

The elections produced semiautonomous administrations in Scotland and Wales led by parties devoted to independence and the breakup of the United Kingdom — though neither has that policy on the front burner.

The Scottish National Party, which has governed in Edinburgh since 2007, won another term but fell short of a majority, meaning an independence referendum is unlikely. Labour and Reform tied in a distant second place.

Plaid Cymru (The Party of Wales) won the most seats in the Cardiff-based legislature, the Senedd. The party, which has an ambition for Wales to leave the U.K. but no plan to do so anytime soon, fell short of a majority but will likely form the new government. Reform came second and Labour a distant third in one of its most historic heartlands, with outgoing First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat.

The economy lies at the heart of Labour’s troubles, as it does for many incumbent governments.

Since ending 14 years of Conservative rule roiled by austerity and the COVID-19 pandemic, Labour has struggled to ease the cost of living and jump-start a sluggish economy against the tough economic backdrop of war in Ukraine and, more recently, Iran. Starmer also has angered supporters with attempts to cut welfare spending, some of which were reversed after Labour revolts.

Some in Labour say the government's achievements, including protections for renters and a higher minimum wage, are going unnoticed. Many blame Starmer, an uninspiring leader distracted by scandals including his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

But Stephen Houghton, the outgoing leader of Barnsley council in northern England, where Labour lost to Reform, said the problem “goes deeper than the prime minister.”

“This has been coming for 30 years around the country, in post-industrial communities, coastal communities, that have been left behind,” he said. “You can change prime ministers all day long. If you don’t change policy, it’s not going to change.”

The results reflect a fragmentation of U.K. politics after decades of domination by Labour and the Conservative Party, which also suffered major losses on Thursday.

The elections offered voters a rainbow of choices, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales.

But the big winners were populist insurgents, Reform UK and the Green Party, whose focus has expanded from the environment to social justice and the Palestinian cause under self-described “eco populist” leader Zack Polanski. The Greens won hundreds of council seats from Labour in urban centers and university towns and took control of several local authorities.

Tony Travers, professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the results suggest the next national election, due by 2029, won’t produce a majority for any party.

“So then you’re in the world of, after the election, two or three big minority parties trying to work out how they would govern,” he said — something traditionally considered “very un-British.”

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney with some of the newly elected SNP MSPs in Edinburgh, Saturday May 9, 2026, following the 2026 Holyrood elections. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

Observers from the Scottish National Party (SNP) watch as votes are counted for the 2026 Holyrood elections, at Dewars Centre in Perth, Scotland, Friday May 8, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks to supporters at Chelmsford City Racecourse, Friday May 8, 2026, in Essex, England, following the 2026 local election results. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Labour Party members at Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, in Ealing, west London, Friday May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)